This once was a safe haven - Now it's gone, Dangers on it's way
by xXSchmayXx
Summary: AU about an incident that occurred in Irina Spalko's childhood. She was a lonely child, her siblings had abandoned her, the family she was with did not care for her. What did she really have left? Makes more sense if you have read the first few Chapters of 'Christmas at the Jones's'


Irina trudged through a sea of brambles and bushes. Tall grass caved her in but she still continues to walk, her legs were scratched and her dress was torn. The young girl did not care about the seething pain where a nettle had caught her, she just wanted to be free for a while. She wished she was back at the orphanage. The people there were strict but at least they were not neglectful. Irina was not sure how she ended up with the family she was with now or why they even made the effort to take her in at all. It was part of this new scheme that was slowly being introduced. Children who had no home to go to would be housed with families in an attempt to forge a bond and give them a second chance of having a family. If it did not turn out like expected, the children would be whisked away before they could even say goodbye. On many occasions it worked but in Irina's case, she felt far worse since the day she had first arrived there. She had fled the house shortly after her 'family' had left for work. They were yet to enrol Irina into any form of education so they had decided that she would be okay on her own every day. They argued that she was almost fifteen and could cope. She simply remained silent. She learned after a while that hiding her emotions would save her from more pain.

Her new home was surrounded by a wooded area. She loved exploring it. On that day it was the beginning of Spring and all the trees were growing blossom. It was relatively warm outside considering so she felt no need to wear a jacket. She could hear the birds singing and it was blissful. The only time were it felt like home there. It was the trickle of a river that drew her close. She stood right next to the edge and removed a shoe, her ankle was burning and she soon relented into tending to it. She removed the sock that half covered the sting and noticed some blood had clotted underneath. She assumed it was one of the thorns from the brambles. Slowly she dipped her foot into the icy depths of the brook and sighed in relief. The pain vanished for a few moments. The girl was lonely but she dared not show it. When she had finished tending to her wound she slipped on her footwear and looked out for a new destination. Her gaze fell upon a plank of wood dangling from a tree by two pieces of rope. If she wasn't mistake it was a swing. She approached it quickly and ran her hands across the surface. It looked like it had not been used in a while. Irina did not care however, she sat herself down and began to swing. She almost had forgotten how to do it. After a good few swings she felt her body lifting higher and higher and it felt as though she was flying. She felt so..free. However she hadn't considered the swings age could prove hazardous as she was totally unprepared for what happened next.

She felt one of the ropes break loose and the swing fell on it's side. She remembered her body tumbling down and landing roughly on the ground below. Remarkably she had landed in a relatively safe area but her back ached and she felt immovable. She noticed she had landed on her arm and moving it proved to be a bad idea. An ashamed yelp escaped her lips. When she tried to sit she hissed in agony and collapsed in a heap of bruises and nausea. She felt more embarrassed than anything. Somebody would find her here, helpless and hurt. She hated being seen like that more than anything. She hardened her expression and laid there, waiting for help to arrive. If her brother was here he would have carried her all the way home. She desperately tried to forced that thought out of her mind. Her siblings had abandoned her ,she told herself. The young girl simply hoped that whoever would find her would embarrass her too much about what had happened. Another part of secretly hoped she would die there and never be found. Life simply hurt too much for her to carry on. Weak and hurt, a veil of darkness engulfed her and she felt herself fall into deep slumber.

When she awoke she found herself lying in her new bed in the house of the family she wanted to escape so much. She noticed her arm was in a sling and her body was covered in several bandages. She sighed in defeat when she realised somebody had found her. Another person was in the room. She could sense it. Her body was still too weak for her to sit up but when she felt them sitting on the end of the bed she didn't have to look far. He was the first to talk to her. The first few words of conversation were awkward, Irina wasn't used to new people. Slowly she began to trust the man. She had found out he was a local lumber-man. He would cut wood all year round to clear passage for drivers and collect it for the fires in Winter. Ukraine was always so cold at that time. He told her that the swing she was on belonged to his late daughter not much younger than her, she had died from a fatal disease. Irina talked with him for a while His name was Sergei. He told her of the time he found her, at first he didn't see her, only the swing with the torn rope, but then he noticed a small form in the long grass. She was unconscious breathing strangely. He recognised her from when he came over in the winter to sell fire wood and carried her to the house. Her 'family' didn't ask questions when he knocked on their door. He assumed they didn't even notice she was gone. The medics came and left again in the blink of an eye, bandaging her up and putting her arm in a sling. They told Irina's rescuer to bring her to the doctors office the next day. They insisted she wasn't too badly hurt and would make it through the night. He's stayed by her side the whole time. He was a kind man and she enjoyed his presence. It was a first for her. Solitude was usually her preference. They could relate to each other, they were both lonely and had suffered loss. He asked her if he'd visit her, as he too enjoyed talking to her. She nodded and said she would as often as she could. Irina was happy that perhaps life could in fact be liveable. She wouldn't feel so alone any more.

**This is just a small one-shot that ties in with my most recent fan fiction. It gives some more information about what had happened to Irina when she was younger. It is my interpretation and there will be more one-shots like this later. **


End file.
